There are a few important things to remember when you start running barefoot: First: Start easy: Your feet have been trapped in shoes for most of your life, they are not used to feeling the ground.
Additionally, your leg and core muscles have gotten used to supporting (and if you can run, running) in heavy, thick, heel strike oriented shoes.
They can't just go back to running naturally.
Contrary to what you might have thought when reading the book "born to run" you will not be running ultra-marathons the moment you take your shoes off.
You need to gradually ease into being barefoot.
Start by walking barefoot (or in minimalist shoes) outside your house for a few minutes to an hour every day.
That should start to get your body used to the sensation.
Then run a short distance barefoot, no more than 1/4 of a mile.
Even if you are already a great long distance runner, you should still run short distances first.
If you don't you will hurt yourself, I can guarantee that.
Your body is still not used to running without shoes and it needs to slowly adjust.
After the run, you will most likely feel your calves hurting.
This is normal and will go away as you learn how to do this well.
Slowly increase the distance you are running, try to keep the increases to less than 10%.
Some good barefoot running advice would be to increase the distance you are running barefoot by 5% every time.
You will feel that you can go longer, and you'll be having so much fun running that it will be tempting to push further, but don't, at least not until you've been running barefoot for a good few months.
Second: Start safe: It's very tempting to go out and run barefoot.
It's actually quite fun, until you step on a piece of broken glass or cut your foot on some trash in the road.
Good barefoot running advice would be that when you start running barefoot, you should first make sure that your path is clear of stuff that can hurt you.
If you live in a city, or a place with a lot of trash and junk on the roads and sidewalks, try running with minimalist shoes, like Vibram Five Fingers, you can always go barefoot later, but you will still need to build up the basics somehow and you don't want to cut yourself trying (I've done this enough to know that when you come home and all your toes are bleeding, it's not a good thing).
Third: Start loose: What I mean by this is that when you start running try to keep your lower legs as loose as possible.
Control your speed by leaning forward from your ankles (not your hips), so your whole body is leaning forward (this is a chi running technique that works very well when barefooting).
When you lean forward and stay loose, you are basically falling forward and bouncing on the natural springiness of your feet and calves as you move down the road, it's very easy to do.
I know a lot of people are concerned with foot strike when running barefoot.
You probably don't have to worry about that.
If you are a natural heel striker, you will feel every strike since there is no rubber cushion to block it anymore and you will quickly transition to forefoot/midfoot running.
If you have "pigeon feet" (toes turn inwards) or "duck feet" (toes turn outwards) you should try and straighten your feet so the toes are pointing forward.
That's a long process to change your natural stance and you shouldn't worry about that now.
Just be aware of it.
That's it, these are the basics.